Peter Cullen
Peter Cullen, born in 1941 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is a voice actor who is best known for providing the voices for Optimus Prime and Ironhide, in the original Transformers TV series (he would subsequently reprise the role of Optimus Prime in the 2007 live action Michael Bay feature film Transformers and it's sequels) and as the Voice of K.A.R.R. in both Knight Rider series. In addition, has has voice numerous television and video game roles. Voice work In the 1980s and the 1990s, Cullen appeared on a number of television shows, including My Little Pony, Pound Puppies as Captain Slaughter, Filmation's Ghostbusters, The Smurfs, Dungeons & Dragons as Venger, Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry Kids Show, DuckTales, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Challenge of the GoBots, Rude Dog and the Dweebs as Herman, Rainbow Brite as Murky Dismal, The Biskitts as Scratch, Robotix, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers as the original voice of Monterey Jack, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, The Little Engine That Could as Pete, the powerful freight engine, Voltron: Defender of the Universe, The Jetsons and Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light as Cindarr.. He also had a voice part in Gremlins as a gremlin and in both the first season of the [[Knight Rider (original series)|Original Knight Rider Series]] and the first season of the [[Knight Rider (2008 series)|2008-2009 Knight Rider Series]] as K.A.R.R.. He also did voicework in The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible series, notably as the king of Ninevah in the Jonah episode. He played the evil sorcerer Renwick in the lesser known series Little Wizards. Among many other television shows and movies, he has also lent his basso voice to many movie trailers and television commercials, including announcing for the blocks Toonami and You Are Here on the Cartoon Network. Cullen spent some of his early professional years in Montreal as a radio announcer/DJ on CKGM (AM); and as a character in a then-popular local television kids show. He acted the role of a French-Canadian astronaut, along with writer and his partner on the show, Ted Ziegler. Both Ziegler and Cullen were spotted in the credits and doing small cameo walk-ons in various comedic roles on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, as well as other network comedies of the era. He also voiced Nintendo's mascot Mario in the Donkey Kong segments on Saturday Supercade, making him the first person to ever provide a voice for the character. Cullen has also done voicework on drum and bass DJ Dieselboy's 2004 album, The Dungeonmaster's Guide. He also did voicework for the unreleased Blizzard Entertainment game Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans, and provided narration for the Star Wars fan film I.M.P.S.: The Relentless. Cullen reprised the role of Optimus Prime in the 2007 Transformers live-action movie, and has signed on for two sequels, the first of which will include a live-action cameo of him. Jess Harnell was cast to voice Ironhide, whom Cullen voiced in the original series. Cullen was offered to reprise Optimus Prime in an episode of Robot Chicken, but refused as he took the role too seriously to make fun of it, which the crew respected enough to accept his rejection. He has stated that of all the voices he has done, Optimus Prime is his favorite. In interviews, he has said that he had no idea of Optimus Prime's popularity until the character's death in the 1986 film, The Transformers: The Movie, as the studio had never given him fan letters from children addressed to Optimus Prime. The public backlash over the death surprised producers to such an extent that Optimus Prime was brought back to life in the show's third season, in which he ultimately saved the Earth and Cybertron from a strain of extraterrestrial spores that threatened all life. Recruitment for Knight Rider Personal life Cullen is a member of the first graduating class of the National Theatre School of Canada, which graduated in 1963. He has three children: Clay, Claire, and Pilar E. Cullen; and one grandchild. External links *Peter Cullen at Wikipedia. *Peter Cullen at IMDB. Cullen Cullen